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If you are planning to move to Manila for a longer time, alone or with your partner, condominiums are the first choice to stay. Usually the units are rented out by private owners for a minimum of one year, shorter stays are negotiable.

In places like Makati City, Ortigas or The Fort, these high rise residential buildings are thriving like mushrooms. Most of them have 30 to 40 floors and pools, gyms, event halls and other public amenities, often on the rooftop with a view over the metropolis.

Lowest rates start at around PHP 10,000 per month for unfurnished studio apartments of roughly 25 to 35 square meters, and around PHP 15,000 for furnished ones.

But prices easily range from PHP 25,000-35,000 for a small unit in more luxurious condominiums, in central business districts and other popular areas, such as Salcedo Village or Fort Bonifacio. In those places, two- or three-bedroom apartments can cost 60,000 or more. That is more than what a Philippine manager, a well-established lawyer, or another member of the higher middle class usually makes in a month.

Expatriates are partly responsible for these soaring rental prices. International organizations and companies that send high-profile employees to work in a foreign country will try everthing to make their stay comfortable. They therefore don't mind paying a high price for a place in a safe area, neatly furnished, and in walking distance to work.

Utility costs range anywhere between PHP 400 to PHP 4,000, depending mostly on the appliances you use (air conditioning is usually expensive). Renting a parking lot in a condominium is a necessity if you drive your own car and costs several thousand pesos a month, sometimes nearly as much as the cost of the unit itself.

A wide range of offers can be found on websites like sulit.com.ph or myproperty.ph, with photos and detailed information about the units. Nevertheless, it is highly recommended to personally visit the units before signing a contract.

Many condominiums have sales offices and/or real estate agencies on the ground floor. When looking for a flat in a specific area, you might as well go from one tower to another and ask the brokers if they can show you free units.

DMCI

DMCI develops and operates a wide range of high rise and mid rise condominiums in the cities of Manila, Taguig, Mandaluyong, Pasig, Parañaque, Quezon and Las Piñas. Its leasing service DHLS offers furnished, semi-furnished and unfurnished units, rentable for a month, for years, or even for a mere week.

Ayala Property

Ayala Property Leasing Exchange (APLEX) helps you find units to rent in the condominiums of Ayala Land, one of the biggest real estate companies of the Philippines. The condominiums are located in Makati and Fort Bonifacio. Here you can find modest studio apartments as well as luxurious lofts and penthouses.

The two towers of Paseo Park View are located in the very center of Salcedo Village. As the name promises, you can see Salcedo Park from one side of the building and Ayala Triangle from the other with these two green oases less than five minutes away.

The Columns is home to may Megacitizens but the area is also frequented by non-residents because of its restaurants. This includes Kopiroti, New Bombay, Joey Pepperoni among others. It is also home to one Bank of the Philippine Islands branch.

Do you reach for the sky in everything that you do? You should take up quarters in the Gramercy Residences! With 71 storeys and a height of 302 meters, this residential tower in Makati offers the most breathtaking views of Metro Manila.

What could be more convenient for a Megacitizen in Metro Manila than living in a condominium with direct access to the Greenbelt Complex with its high-end restaurants, shops, and recreational facilities?

Trump Tower Manila, a residential building in the central business district Makati is a part of the Trump brand. According to President-elect Donald Trump, the owner of the brand, he has “always loved the Philippines,’ adding that “Manila is one of Asia’s most spectacular cities.”